Live Now Trollope did not write for posterity, according to writer Henry James. "He wrote for the day, the moment; but these are just the writers whom posterity is apt to put into its pocket." (Hall, 1993) "The Way We Live Now" was meant to be a satire of the literary world of London in the late 1800's and an indictment of the new power of speculative finance in English life. "I was instigated by what I conceived to be the commercial profligacy of the age," Trollope said.

Critics of Anthony Trollope's work have suggested that the author's tone grew darker as he grew older. This is particularly true in "The Way We Live Now," which was written by Trollope in the 1870's when Trollope was a mature man. The story is a sharp panoramic satire based on London's society.

Author Stephen Wall wrote that, in "The Way We Live...
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